Coal Barque 'Surprise', memorial in Walsall

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What is recorded here

One of four stones excavated from Bentley Hall, surrounding Bentley Cairn, tells the story of King Charles II sheltering here after losing the English Civil War. Engraved with a depiction of the boat 'Surprise'.

Coal Barque 'Surprise' is another of the carved Bentley Cairn stones made from material excavated from Bentley Hall. Its ship image represents the final sea escape of Charles II after defeat at Worcester in 1651. Shoreham captain Nicholas Tattersell carried Charles and companions across the Channel in his coal vessel Surprise, after which the restored king bought and renamed it Royal Escape. The Walsall stone is a modern scene in a local Charles II story, not timber from Tattersell's ship or evidence that the vessel came to Bentley.

Why it was made

The cairn's makers used four carved stones to turn recovered Bentley Hall material into a public account of Charles II's concealment, flight and restoration. The Surprise image supplies the sea journey that completed his escape from Parliamentary pursuit.

People and events

After weeks moving between safe houses, Charles reached the Sussex coast. Captain Nicholas Tattersell agreed to carry him and companions aboard the collier Surprise, sailing from Shoreham to Fécamp in October 1651. After regaining the throne, Charles purchased the vessel and renamed her Royal Escape.

How it worked

A carved sailing vessel lets one stone represent an event far from Bentley. Its place within the group matters: the local hall tradition opens the escape story, while the ship shows its successful end. The artwork joins locations without claiming they are one physical site.

What remains

The engraved stone remains around Bentley Cairn with the related carvings. The original Surprise does not survive. Later Royal Navy ships carried the name Royal Escape, and written accounts preserve Tattersell's role, but this block is reused hall stone shaped into a twenty-first-century memorial.

Why it mattered

The stone connects a Walsall refuge tradition to the wider chain of people and places that enabled Charles to escape. Tattersell's ordinary commercial vessel was crucial precisely because it did not look royal. The modern image makes that practical human help visible while keeping the geography honest.